


Sing For The Laughter

by kissesfromkrug



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Pets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-31
Updated: 2017-08-31
Packaged: 2018-12-19 14:44:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11899923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kissesfromkrug/pseuds/kissesfromkrug
Summary: Ryan wants a fish. Or Fish. Or a combo of both.In which one animal is supposed to be adopted, and Ryan and Taylor come home with five.





	Sing For The Laughter

**Author's Note:**

> Not for profit, fictional; feel free to point out any typos. :)
> 
> Title taken from "Dream On" by Aerosmith because it's one of my top five favorite songs.
> 
> Because I'm a sap and everyone writes about dogs so I wanted to be different (cause I don't like dogs, whoops).

"You want a fish?" Taylor looks around at the walls of fish tanks, all the brightly-colored fish standing out in their peaceful blue water.

"Well, Nuge said he wanted, like, a goldfish or something, so I thought you could buy him one while he's at the doctor's," Jordan says. "Or - wait, maybe - no, you could buy one of those fighting fish things. Whatever they're called."

"Why the fuck don't you know what they're called?"

"Just ask!" Jordan exclaims. Taylor holds the phone between his ear and shoulder as he waves down the pet store associate, huffing to himself before asking,

"Do you have any of those - angry fish?" Taylor makes some hand motions to indicate fighting, but the associate only raises an eyebrow.

"Angry fish?"

"The ones that fight all the time? I think?" Taylor tries, "Ebs, help me out - what are those fish called? Fighting fish?"

"Siamese fighting fish, you mean?" The associate asks, and Taylor repeats it into the phone.

"Yeah yeah, that," Jordan says. "Get one of those, they're sick."

"Do you have any of those here?"

"Got quite a few, sir," the guy - his name tag says Matt - tells Taylor, pointing behind him. "We got red ones, blue ones, orange ones, or any mix of those colors."

"Just one fish?" Taylor asks, turning around to stare at the vibrant fish with long flowing tails zipping around their tanks. "They're really pretty. I mean, like, dope fish, bro. Those colors are so dope. We should get at least two."

"You sound like you're a little girl mixed with a guy in the hood," Jordan sighs. "Just get one 'pretty' fish for the living room and we'll be all set."

"I want three," Taylor says firmly, and hangs up before Jordan can protest.

"Three?" Matt asks. "You'll need a different tank for each one."

"Why?"

"Well, they have a knack for attacking and killing each other, so we like to keep them apart for, you know. Health reasons." Taylor stares at him for a few shocked seconds.

"But they're so pretty!" He repeats, the words sounding a bit childish even to his own ears. "Like, their colors are awesome."

"I know right?" Matt shrugs. "It's a shame." Taylor frowns sadly as he stares at the solitary blue and orange fish in its watery box.

"What size tanks should I get for them? Do they need lots of food? What do they eat?" He asks all at once. "Like, where should I put them? Do they need fancy plants and-"

"Woah woah there, buddy," Matt interrupts, stepping next to Taylor and staring into the tank with a larger red fish. "You gotta pick 'em out first."

• • •

Taylor honestly didn't mean to spend over an hour at the pet store, but there were so many things to see. He also didn't mean to spend $100 on fish.

Nor did Ryan mean to wander into the local animal shelter after he left his surprisingly short check-up relating to his shoulder health.

He walks into the shelter and immediately catches a whiff of pet food. _Wet_ pet food. More specifically, cat food. Ryan isn't the biggest fan of cats.

Nevertheless, he greets the woman at the desk with a smile. "What are you interested in today, sir?" She asks brightly. She's wearing an apron covered in fur, blonde hair a bit of a mess, but she looks like she'd never want anything else in her life. An insanely fluffy, golden-colored cat meows and jumps on the counter, and she clicks her tongue and picks it up. "Not today, Thor."

"Uh..." His mind blanks, and he can't even think of why he came. He just - did. No plans or anything. Well, kind of a plan. Jordan wants a fish - well, Ryan does too, so-- "Fish," he blurts. Shit. _They don't_ have _fish here, you idiot_ , Ryan thinks to himself, but her smile just widens even more as she places Thor back on the ground.

"Oh, that's wonderful! Fish has been all _over_ me lately - follow me right this way!" Ryan, a bit worried and a lot confused, shoves his hands in his skinny jean pockets and follows the woman down a short hallway. "This is Fish and his brothers and sisters. Would you like to hold one?"

Ryan's breath catches in his throat as she gestures to a small - no, _minuscule_  gray kitten cuddled up with five others in a large bed probably made for a medium-sized dog. The kittens squirm every few seconds, batting at each other's ears and tails.

Ryan may have been lying a bit when he said he didn't like cats. These kittens wriggling around are probably the cutest things he's ever witnessed in his life. One hops off the pile and dives for a toy mouse, another meowing loudly at it and tackling its sibling.

One of the biggest kittens, a dark gray ball of fluff, decides to climb up the cat ladder created in their special room. It perches on top, twirls, meows, and leaps down onto the ground, barely missing the tiny gray one. They begin to tussle, a mouse toy caught on the smaller one's back fur, and Ryan can almost feel himself melting.

"Oh my god." The woman waits in anticipation as he stares through the class into the small room, a smile overtaking his face. "Yes, please, I'll, uh - start with Fish."

"Here you go - just be careful of his face, he's barely four weeks old and he's already run into two walls," she says after retrieving him, gently setting the kitten in Ryan's cupped palms.

"It's so cute, holy shit," he murmurs, holding it up to his face. "Oh my god." Fish mews - it's the sweetest little sound in the world - and stumbles closer, waving a paw in the direction of his nose.

"He wants to play with you," she says fondly, and Ryan feels a swell of pride bubble up in his chest as he holds the kitten close. Fish squeaks again and claws his way up Ryan's white shirt, nuzzling at his cheek when he reaches the shoulder. Ryan is officially in love.

"I want him," he says, petting the kitten's soft fur as it makes happy noises in his ear. "This might be a weird question but, uh, how much does he cost?" She laughs.

"Not a weird question at all. I'll get you the information?" He nods looks down into the window of the room, and another kitten, this one with brown and white patches almost like a cow, is jumping on top of the biggest kitten and rolling around. "And what's that one's name?"

"The little crazy one? Oh, that's Wonka," she says, and Ryan looks to her with wide, excited eyes.

Ryan feels no shame as he walks out with two little kittens and a list of instructions on caring for them. He wishes he could've taken them all, mother cat included, but this will do perfectly fine. Perfect. Now time to buy their food and bowls.

Money well spent.

• • •

"Ryan?" Taylor calls out, glad that they have a massive kitchen counter as he sets all the fish things down onto it. "You home?" There's no answer, so Taylor shoots him a few texts before getting to work on making the homes for his fish - _their_ fish, whatever.

_T: home now, kinda hungry._

_T: got you a surprise, too ;)_

_T: where'd u go?_

Water is all over the counter, floor, and Taylor's clothes by the time he finally puts the first fish into its tank. They'd been watching him struggle from their bags on the far side of the room.

"Why the hell was this so hard, buddy?" Taylor asks, the blue and orange fish swimming in circles as it immediately tries to acclimate itself to its new environment. "I got you a nice tank all to yourself. You like that?"

The big red fish goes in the middle tank, and the sparkly blue one with gold on its tail takes the last one. "Tank sweet tank?" Taylor says, but they just blub and stare back at him. "Agreed. Have some alone time, little guys, I'll just grab some food and be outta here in a sec."

Geez, he's talking to _fish_ now. What next?

The front door opens slowly, creaking before it hits the wall with a bang. There's a frightened squeak, followed by a muttered curse, and the sound of shoes being kicked off onto the mat. "Hallsy?" Ryan calls out, and Taylor's shoulders relax from where he'd been frozen in the kitchen.

"In here." Taylor reaches in the fridge for a bottle of water as Ryan rushes past him, the squeaking getting louder and more worried. Now that he thinks about it, the squeaks aren't even from one thing. "What did you-"

"Please don't be mad," Ryan says quickly, coming back into view with a cat carrier in his arms. "But I adopted Fish and Wonka because they're just so cute but I wanted them all but we can't have seven cats but-"

"You went out and got kittens?" Taylor interrupts. "But I thought you weren't a cat person."

"Not until I saw his face," Ryan says, peering down into the carrier. The little gray one mews again and paws at the front of it, and Ryan smiles down dopily at it.

"I can't believe you got a cat named Fish."

"Deal with it. Also, why are you all wet - and what happened to half the kitchen? Did you forget how the faucet works?" Ryan asks, amused. "Did you burst a pipe?" Taylor ducks his head and gestures to the new fish tanks.

"I got you fish," he says, sounding just a tad deflated. "I thought you wanted a fish so I got you three and I didn't name them so you could. But like, you don't have to take care of them or anything. I'll feed them and name them and change the filter and all that if you don't want to, I swear."

Ryan's eyes bore into Taylor's the moment their gazes lock, and Taylor swallows hard. "You're the sweetest thing," he finally says, and Taylor puts on a grin.

"Yeah?"

"You bought me three fish 'cause I mentioned it the other day?" Ryan says with a smirk. "What the fuck. That's adorable." He stops halfway across the kitchen, and Taylor is left with pouting lips in hopes of a kiss. "You know who else is adorable?"

He gets onto the ground and sets the carrier in front of him, Wonka sticking a paw through the bars in the front. "You guys are!" Taylor watches Ryan wiggle his finger, the kittens nipping at it as they try to figure out exactly where the hell they are.

"Guest room," Ryan says after a while, and Taylor snaps out of his Ryan-related cuteness-induced haze and nods. "That's where they'll live for the first week. It's better for them to have a small environment to start with, then they can explore the whole place."

"Are they trained?" Taylor asks, following close behind Ryan.

"Oh yeah, they use a litter box fine. I was there for like an hour, maybe more. I saw them all in action."

"You're such a fuckin' dork," Taylor says affectionately, ruffling Ryan's hair to make him squawk and duck away.

"Hey, they're adorable, I can't help it," Ryan says, pouring food into little bowls in the corner near the dresser. "Fill this with water, will you?"

"Am I your servant now?" Taylor snips, but Ryan only chuckles.

"You know you'd do anything I asked you to." He's not just referring to water bowls. Taylor mutters a "fuck you" and does as he's told, and when he comes back, Ryan tells him to shut the door.

"Look!" Ryan says in a whisper-yell as he opens the door to the carrier, letting the two kittens sniff the air and slowly step out. "They're testing to see if we're good enough for them." Wonka goes straight for the food bowl, and Taylor figures that's his sign of approval. Fish scoots under the dresser, emerging a few seconds later with a huge ball of dust attached to his back.

"Silly boy!" Ryan coos in a high-pitched voice, reaching for Fish and brushing it off. Taylor still can't believe this is happening. Fish tilts his head up and meows, pleased, then pitter-pattering over to his own bowl of food.

"You're such a dork," Taylor repeats. "It's cute." They're sitting on the floor in the guest bedroom watching tiny kittens eat. What better time to bring out the sappiness in them?

" _I'm_ cute?" Ryan says excitedly. "Have you seen Wonka when he yawns? Wait, no you haven't. Anyway, hands-down, cutest thing ever. Five stars for cuteness." Taylor rolls his eyes, but it's a loving eye roll. Ryan knows it and smacks him anyway.

"Hey! Don't teach our sons to hit!" Taylor scolds, and on cue Wonka leaps on top of Fish. "It's all your fault!"

" _My_ fault? Abso _lute_ ly not, I didn't roll my eyes at my boyfriend's choice of pet. In fact, I love the fish. And Fish the cat. I love all fish, whether fish or not!"

"It's not that-"

"Shut up."

" _Me_ shut up? You're blabbing about fish that aren't fish and stuff that-" Taylor can't finish his thought, laughing as Ryan gives him a faux pout.

Ryan turns and throws a leg over Taylor's hips, pushing him down into the soft carpet. "Shut your pretty mouth."

"I'm pretty _and_  adorable? Awesome!" Taylor says with a wide grin, eyes roaming over Ryan's face, nearly glowing with happiness. Ryan leans in to brush his lips over Taylor's, hands on his arms to keep him in place under Ryan's sturdy body. He's just leaning up to deepen the kiss when Ryan makes a shocked sound and jerks back, looking behind him.

"Wonka! Ow!" Taylor frowns at the loss of lip contact, trying to regain Ryan's attention. It's no use. The little brown and white kitten stands proudly on his back, and Ryan carefully places it on Taylor's chest.

It sniffs him curiously, meows right in his face, and rubs its forehead against his chin. "That means he likes you," Ryan says softly, petting Wonka as he eventually curls up in the curve of Taylor's throat, leaving him unable to look down. "Oh fuck, we need a photo, this is so great."

Taylor hasn't seen Ryan this excited in months; maybe even in forever. Taylor has to admit that the kittens are okay for now. They make Ryan happy, which makes Taylor happy, which makes for a better life and environment in their home.

"Babe?"

"Cheese."

"Say chocolate," Ryan corrects, "Wonka wasn't named after a cheese dude."

"Sweet - sweetheart," Taylor says instead, relishing in Ryan's blush as he snaps the photo of Taylor beaming up at him. The little kitten has the tip of its tail curled over its insanely tiny pink nose, chest rising and falling a fraction of an inch with every breath.

Ryan says as much as he looks at the pictures - and Taylor still can't believe how small the kittens are. So. Fucking. Tiny. He'll have to pay extra care in order to not step on one when he's tired and confused.

"I love you," Ryan sighs happily, setting his phone down and kissing Taylor deeply. Taylor accepts it more than willingly, keeping his head at an angle so Wonka can sleep while they make out on the floor of the guest bedroom.

"I love you too," Taylor breathes, and all of a sudden Wonka hops up and sprints over to the food bowl, missing and running headlong into the dresser.

"Woah, little bud, you okay?" Ryan asks, reaching for him, but Wonka just squeaks and hops away. "I thought Fish was supposed to be the running-into-things one."

"Doesn't everyone have a little 'running-into-things' in them?" Taylor asks cheekily. "More specifically, canned displays at grocery stores that take forever to make? Everyone does that, no?"

"We agreed to never mention the AVGD again." Ryan looks guilty still, even six months later.

"The what?"

"The Accidental Vegetable Grocery Disaster, duh," Ryan says, and Taylor laughs.

"You suck-"

"Not gonna argue with that. Actually, you suck me more, so-"

"-at not running into things." Ryan turns back to Taylor, legs still spread over his chest, and punches him in the shoulder.

"Fuck off."

"No cursing in front of the children." Fish bounds over and meows in Taylor's face, much like Wonka did. He laughs as Fish's little tail swishes back and forth in his excitement as he pets the kitten's soft back. "Is this okay? This kitten situation?"

"More than okay." Taylor is able to steal one last wet kiss from Ryan before Fish climbs on his face and starts investigating what exactly Taylor put in his hair this morning.

Good times come from the small moments, the littlest things bringing the greatest joy.


End file.
